“In a Medium post published today, Tesla employee Jose Moran detailed working conditions at the company’s Freemont factory and called for the factory workers to unionize with United Auto Workers (UAW),” reports Ars Technica. In response, Elon Musk told Gizmodo…

Slashdot Asks: How Do You Know a Developer is Doing a Good Job?
An anonymous reader writes: One of the easiest ways to evaluate a developer is keeping a tab on the amount of value they provide to a business. But the problem with this approach is that the nature of software development…

Scientists Successfully Decode the Genome of Quinoa
Gr8Apes writes: Scientists have successfully decoded the genome of quinoa, a hugely popular “super-food” because it is well balanced and gluten-free. They have pinpointed one of the genes that they believe control the production of saponins (bitter toxic compounds that…

Glass From Nuclear Test Site Shows the Moon Was Born Dry
An anonymous reader quotes a report from New Scientist: We can’t recreate the giant impact that led to the moon’s formation in a lab, but humans have made some other big explosions. By examining residue from the first detonation of…

Tesla To Start Pilot Production of Model 3 This Month
According to Reuters, Tesla is planning to “begin test-building its Model 3 sedans on February 20, a move that could allay concerns about the company meeting its target to start production in July.” The sources familiar with the matter did…

Verizon and T-Mobile Are In a Virtual Tie For the Best Network In the US
Verizon has tied T-Mobile for the fastest carrier in the United States and both carriers are virtually tied for the “best” in overall LTE download speeds, according to Open Signal’s State of Mobile Networks: USA report. Android Central reports: Using…

Developer Explains Why All Windows Drivers Are Dated June 21, 2006
For years, people have wondered why all Windows drivers are dated June 21, 2006. Long time developer at Microsoft, Raymond Chen explains (much of the entire post in summary): When the system looks for a driver to use for a…

There Are Now Twice As Many Solar Jobs As Coal Jobs In the US
According to a new survey from the nonprofit Solar Foundation, the solar industry now employs more than 260,000 people even though solar power provides just 1.3 percent of America’s electricity. Last year, the industry accounted for one of every 50…

A Supermassive Black Hole Has Been Devouring a Star For a Decade
An anonymous reader quotes a report from USA Today: A massive black hole devoured a star over a 10 year period, setting a new record for the longest space meal ever observed, according to new research. Researchers spotted the ravenous…

Sony's Latest Smartphone Camera Sensor Can Shoot At 1,000fps
Sony has taken the wraps off of its latest smartphone camera sensor which it says can shoot 1080p slow-motion video at 1,000 frames per second. “The new 3-layer CMOS sensor — an industry first — can capture slow motion video…